A Worthy Celebration
Before getting into my topic for this week, I want to start with this video.
Truly powerful, right?
This monologue, voiced by actress Sophie Okonedo, kicked off the fourth annual Green Carpet Fashion Awards (GCFA) on Saturday, October 10, 2020. Created by Eco-Age in collaboration with Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana (CNMI), “the Green Carpet Fashion Awards, Italia, celebrates the best in sustainable fashion. The awards reflect the commitment of fashion houses to sustainability, as they work to embrace rapid change while preserving the heritage and authenticity of small-scale producers” (“The Green Carpet Fashion Awards,” 2020, para. 1). The GCFA are the only awards ceremony “to honor both the handprint of fashion (the human capital that goes into the making of fashion), as well as to acknowledge the footprint (the natural capital and environmental impact) of fashion at this level” (para. 2).
While the GFCA are spectacular each and every year, this year it was particularly outstanding. Every year, the event is held at La Scala theatre in Milan; due to Covid-19, this year it still occurred at La Scala – but in a completely digital format. Combining “cinematic footage with augmented reality, visual FX and hologram technology,” this year’s GCFA was most-assuredly the first of its kind (Doyle, 2020, para. 1). Spearheaded by Pulse Films, NorthHouse Creative design agency and hologram creators at ARHT Media, Milan’s La Scala theatre was turned into a virtual terrarium for the event.
Milan’s La Scala theatre transformed into a virtual terrarium.
While the virtual GCFA are most definitely a win on a creative and innovative level, “the biggest winner of all is the planet” (para. 11). In particular, by significantly reducing the number of people needed on set in Milan, the environmental implications are profound – “when you take into account the carbon emissions created by guests flying from around the world to attend events, this virtual award show is saving thousands of tonnes of CO2 from entering the atmosphere” (para. 11).
At the awards ceremony, visionaries, innovators, creatives, artisans and more were awarded for their values and their efforts. Some of the winners included Zendaya for the Visionary Award, Sindiso Khumalo for the Best Independent Designer Award and the whole of Italian Artisans for the Art of Craftsmanship Award.
In the fashion industry, there’s been much conversation over the last couple of years surrounding the sustainability of Fashion Month, fashion weeks and fashion shows. All that goes into those spectacular events has a truly significant impact on the environment. While I surely don’t know what the future of those events holds, I think this year’s events have shown that, on the whole, the fashion industry can and should expect more from itself in terms of sustainability. As I discussed in my post last week along with this weeks’ conversation about the GCFA, innovation and creativity are pillars of the fashion industry, so incorporating sustainability into that mix is not only possible but absolutely necessary.
Bye for now,
McGee